"One day, the mayor asked me to intimidate her": a resident of Auribeau-sur-Siagne alleges he was approached by Michèle Paganin to threaten his former campaign manager

Emaciated face, body weakened by illness, David Berth is adamant. Yes, Michèle Paganin, mayor (UDR) of Auribeau, is said to have approached him at the end of 2022 to make a special request. To ask for a strange favor, "because we knew each other well, we were very close, but probably also because I'm one of the traveling people, " emphasized the man who was born and lives in Auribeau when we met him in December. "She was convinced that Alexandre Kaabi was the author of the Facebook account ''La Madone d'Auribeau'' which criticized her. And, basically, she asked me to intimidate him into stopping, to push him a little..."

Attack by strangers?

Alexandre Kaabi? Former campaign manager and former running mate of Michèle Paganin during the 2020 municipal elections. The latter has become one of her fiercest detractors. At least on his personal Facebook account. So much so that a defamation lawsuit pitted them against each other in court, for which Alexandre Kaabi was initially partially convicted in 2023, before being fully acquitted on appeal, in the name of freedom of expression and the legitimate debate of ideas.

Another episode in a turbulent saga in Auribeau-sur-Siagne, since the real estate agent who joined the RN also claims to have been attacked by three individuals in January 2023.

"I was leaving my agency around 6:30 p.m. and in the parking lot, three men with their faces hidden by hoods and scarves called out to me: 'Oh, Kaabi, you're going to stop posting about the Madonna!' I then took a big slap that knocked me to the ground and they threatened my wife and son again, saying - 'We know where you live' - before leaving," the man told us, who says he is still traumatized by the attack. "For six months, I was afraid every time there was a new post on the account of the Madonna of Auribeau [he has always denied being the author], I always sleep with pills and two baseball bats within reach," he sighs.

Dispute over land

A complaint was filed with the Pégomas gendarmerie. But the case was closed due to the lack of evidence of the alleged attackers. Could these unidentified men have done what David Berth refused to do on the mayor's instructions? A gendarmerie investigation is underway, and hearings have begun.

David Berth shows us several text messages he exchanged with the mayor of Auribeau in the past, which prove that they did indeed have a cordial relationship. But none of them hint at any action against Alexandre Kaabi.

And then why did you refuse, then wait many months to denounce the alleged facts? "With my illness, I changed my way of thinking... I said no to Michèle Paganin because I know this little Kaabi (sic) , I couldn't do that to him. But I didn't necessarily intend to talk about it..."

Except that, since then, David Berth has found himself in dispute with the mayor of Auribeau. Over a piece of land that this settled nomad acquired on the Chemin des Passerels, with the intention of building a small chalet there to accommodate his daughter.

"The electrical installation has existed for a long time and, even if it is a wooded area on the PLU, the notary assured me that we could build if it does not exceed one tenth , affirms David Berth. Michèle Paganin had told me that there would be no problem with the authorization but after my refusal for Kaabi, she started to annoy me..."

Until the work was notified to stop in November 2024, forcing the person concerned to take refuge in a rudimentary caravan. "For me, it's pure and simple revenge, otherwise it would have fallen on me before," he believes.

"What's this story?!"

Michèle Paganin has not (yet?) been questioned by the police in this case. But if she is summoned, she will reaffirm to them, as she did to Nice-Matin , that she never, ever approached David Berth to order any intimidation of Alexandre Kaabi.

"There was no such interview, what is this story all about?" the mayor protested, before counter-attacking. "Once, when I met him in front of the Bayle shops, he was the one who accosted me and said: ' I put your enemy back in his place, I told him the truth!' I was even embarrassed by it, because I never asked him anything about Kaabi..."

Their "friendly" relationship? "When I ran in the municipal elections against Jacques Varrone, the entire Berth family was against me, but he supported me ," says Michèle Paganin. "Afterwards, he regularly came to the town hall to work, to ask us for small projects. But he has always been very friendly with Alexandre Kaabi. In the village, they grew up together..."

Neighborhood complaints

From there to Considering that David Berth's allegations are nothing more than a political plot to destabilize her is only a small step that the mayor is careful not to take. Even if she can't help but wonder... As for David Berth's land, again, Michèle Paganin dismisses any idea of ​​"revenge" motivated by a refusal. And opposes it solely with planning rights: "Even before he bought it, I always told him that we couldn't allow him to build." The municipal services specify that the plot is located in a red fire risk zone, unbuildable. After complaints from the neighborhood and reports of ground movements following excavation, proceedings were initiated. And a work interruption order was notified, which exposes the offender to intervention by law enforcement.